Lower-back supporting structure for a bed or a chair

ABSTRACT

A lower-back supporting structure for a bed or a chair includes a sliding base, two scissor lifts, a driver and a supporting member. The sliding base has a pair of slide slots and a pair of rotating pins, a securing portion between the two rotating pins, and a plurality of the locking apertures. Two scissor lifts both have an X-shaped frame having a pivot. A driver has a positioning end, an extendable rod, a through hole and a sliding rod placed through the slide slot, the through hole and the first front cotter holes. A supporting member has a pair of slide tracks and a pair of rotating holes. The driver drives the sliding rod along the slide slot of the sliding base to shorten the extendable rod, the scissor lifts rotate around the pivots to lift such that the supporting member is pushed away from the sliding base.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to a lower-back supporting structure for abed or a chair, and more particularly to a lower-back supportingassembly that provides lower-back support to improve the comfortafforded by a bed frame or chair, which employs scissor lifts that arecapable of a scissoring movement to increase the lift height of thesupporting member, thereby providing a lower-back supporting structurethat can help users suffering from lower-back pain.

2. Description of the Related Art

Currently, most bed frames are designed for a user to lay flat whilesleeping, and a typical bed frame includes four legs and supports.However, due to the stresses of modern life, many people suffer frominsomnia and therefore suffer from a lack of sufficient rest.Consequently, many bed frames have included additional features, such asproviding head or leg lifting capabilities, and the user can select andadjust a suitable position for him or herself. However, these prior artbed frames all lack a lower-back support function. The lower-back of thehuman body supports the upper-body weight and has a concaved shape,which is the narrowest portion in the upper body; therefore, thelower-back endures tremendous pressure. If, when the user is layingflat, his or her lower-back is not supported by the bed surface, theuser cannot experience the most comfortable posture or release thestresses around the lower-back.

Some typical chairs have lower-back support structures, but the usermust manually do the adjustment. The prior structure utilizes an elasticsheet to provide support to a back board, and the back board is attachedto a string. With a tightening rotation or release of the string, theback board is placed in different positions to provide lower-backsupport. However, the prior art lower-back support structure requiresmanual operation which is inconvenient, and the elastic sheet cannotprovide sufficient support height.

Therefore, it is desirable to provide a lower-back supporting structurefor a bed or a chair to mitigate and/or obviate the aforementionedproblems.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

An objective of the present invention is to provide a lower-backsupporting structure for a bed or a chair.

In order to achieve the above-mentioned objective, a lower-backsupporting structure for a bed or a chair comprises a sliding base, twoscissor lifts, a driver and a supporting member. The sliding base is arectangular frame, and front ends and rear ends of two length-wise sidesrespectively have a pair of slide slots and a pair of rotating pins.Each slide slot is an elongate slot having an inner arcuate region andan outer arcuate region at two respective ends. A securing portion isdisposed on a down-extended portion between the two rotating pins, andthe sliding base includes a plurality of locking apertures. The twoscissor lifts both are an X-shaped frame having a pivot; two bottom endsof each has a first front cotter hole and a rear cotter hole, and twotop ends of each has a second front cotter hole and rear rotating pin.The first front cotter hole of each scissor lift is aligned with theslide slot of the sliding base, the rear cotter hole of each scissorlift is pivoted to the rotating pin, and a sliding pin is placed throughthe two second front cotter holes of the two scissor lifts. A firstspacer tube and a first pair of washers are jacketed on the sliding pin.The driver is an electric motor or a hydraulic device. The driver has apositioning end; the positioning end is pivoted to the securing portionof the sliding base, and the securing portion of the sliding base andthe positioning end of the driver are pivoted together by a pin. Anotherend of the driver has an extendable rod and a through hole disposed atan end of the extendable rod. The through hole is aligned with the slideslot of the sliding base. A sliding rod is placed through the slideslot, the through hole and the first front cotter holes. Furthermore,two second spacer tubes and a second pair of washers are jacketed on thesliding rod among the slide slot, the through hole and the first frontcotter holes. Therefore, the driver and the sliding base are capable ofmoving relative to each other. A supporting member has four cornerscorresponding to the four top ends of the two scissor lifts, a pair ofslide tracks and a pair of rotating holes; each slide track correspondswith the sliding pin, and each rotating hole is pivoted to acorresponding rear rotating pin. Subsequently, the driver drives thesliding rod along the slide slot of the sliding base to shorten theextendable rod, the scissor lifts rotate around the pivots to lift suchthat the supporting member is pushed away from the sliding base.

When the extendable rod of the driver is extended, the extendable rodpushes the sliding rod towards the outer arcuate regions of the slideslots, and the first front cotter holes of the scissor lifts are pushedin the same direction so the scissor lifts rotate around their pivots. Amaximum distance between the first front cotter hole and the rear cotterhole is then reached. Alternatively, when the extendable rod of thedriver contracts, the through hole of the extendable rod pulls thesliding rod to slide towards the inner arcuate regions of the slideslots, and with the sliding rod being pivoted to the first front cotterholes of the scissor lifts the sliding rod simultaneously pulls thefirst front cotter holes to slide towards the rear cotter holes.Meanwhile, the scissor lifts rotate around their pivots, and a minimumdistance between the first front cotter holes and the rear cotter holesis then reached. Additionally, the second front cotter holes and therear rotating pins of the scissor lifts also move to closer to eachother. The rear rotating pins are pivoted on the rotating holes of thesupporting member, and the rear rotating pins of the scissor lifts liftthe ends having the rotating holes of the supporting member. The secondfront cotter holes with the sliding pin slides and pushes against theslide track of the supporting member. Therefore, with the contraction ofthe driver and the simultaneous rotation of the scissor lifts, thesupporting member is able to lift up while remaining horizontal.

The lower-back supporting structure utilizes the driver to push thesliding rod along the slide slots, and with the scissoring movement ofthe scissor lifts the supporting is lifted horizontally. This simpleassembly structure can provide lower-back support to improve the comfortof the bed frame or chair. Moreover, the scissor lifts both are anX-shaped frame and capable of scissoring movement around the pivots toincrease the lift height of the supporting member. Therefore, thelower-back supporting structure can help users to ease their lower-backpain.

Other objects, advantages, and novel features of the invention willbecome more apparent from the following detailed description when takenin conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a perspective exploded view of an embodiment of the presentinvention.

FIG. 3 is a side view of an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a schematic drawing of a pushing movement according to anembodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a perspective exploded view showing an embodiment of thepresent invention being installed onto a bed frame.

FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view of a lower-back supporting structureaccording to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a schematic drawing showing an embodiment lower-backsupporting structure being installed onto a bed frame and lifting up.

FIG. 8 is a schematic drawing showing an embodiment supporting memberwith a soft padding according to the present invention.

FIG. 9 is a schematic drawing showing a user laying flat on anembodiment bed frame.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

Please refer to FIG. 1 and FIG. 2. An embodiment lower-back supportingstructure 100 for a bed or a chair comprises a sliding base 10, twoscissor lifts 20, a driver 30 and a supporting member 40. The slidingbase 10 is a rectangular frame, and front ends and rear ends of twolength-wise sides respectively have a pair of slide slots 11 and a pairof rotating pins 12. Each slide slot 11 is an elongate slot having aninner arcuate region 111 and an outer arcuate region 112 at tworespective ends. A securing portion 13 is disposed on a down-extendedportion between the two rotating pins 12, and the sliding base 10includes a plurality of locking apertures 14. The two scissor lifts 20both are an X-shaped frame having a pivot 21; two bottom ends of eachhas a first front cotter hole 22 and a rear cotter hole 23, and two topends of each has a second front cotter hole 24 and rear rotating pin 25.The first front cotter hole 22 of each scissor lift 20 is aligned withthe slide slot 11 of the sliding base 10, the rear cotter hole 23 ofeach scissor lift 20 is pivoted to the rotating pin 12, and a slidingpin 241 is placed through the two second front cotter holes 24 of thetwo scissor lifts 20. A first spacer tube 242 and a first pair ofwashers 243 are jacketed on the sliding pin 241. The driver 30 is anelectric motor or a hydraulic device. The driver 30 has a positioningend 31; the positioning end 31 is pivoted to the securing portion 13 ofthe sliding base 10, and the securing portion 13 of the sliding base 10and the positioning end 31 of the driver 30 are pivoted together by apin 32. Another end of the driver 30 has an extendable rod 33 and athrough hole 331 disposed at an end of the extendable rod 33. Thethrough hole 331 is aligned with the slide slot 11 of the sliding base10. A sliding rod 34 is placed through the slide slot 11, the throughhole 331 and the first front cotter holes 22. Furthermore, two secondspacer tubes 341 and a second pair of washers 342 are jacketed on thesliding rod 34 among the slide slot 11, the through hole 331 and thefirst front cotter holes 22. Therefore, the driver 30 and the slidingbase 10 are capable of moving relative to each other. A supportingmember 40 has four corners corresponding to the four top ends of the twoscissor lifts 20, a pair of slide tracks 41 and a pair of rotating holes42; each slide track 41 corresponds with the sliding pin 241, and eachrotating hole 42 is pivoted to a corresponding rear rotating pin 25.Subsequently, the driver 30 drives the sliding rod 34 along the slideslot 11 of the sliding base 10 to shorten the extendable rod, thescissor lifts 20 rotate around the pivots 21 to lift such that thesupporting member 40 is pushed away from the sliding base 10.

For an embodiment structure of the present invention, please refer toFIGS. 1, 2 and 3. The two scissor lifts 20 are separately placed at twolength-wise sides of the sliding base 10, and the first front cotterholes 22 of the scissor lifts 20 are placed adjacent to the inner sideof the slide slot 11. The rear cotter holes 23 of the scissor lifts 20are pivoted to the rotating pin 12 so that the two scissor lifts 20 areinstalled symmetrically. The driver 30 is coupled with the pin 32, whichpasses through the positioning end 31, so that the positioning end 31 ispivoted to the securing portion 13 of the sliding base 10. Theextendable rod 33 of the driver 30 is arranged towards the slide slots11 of the sliding base 10 and placed between the two scissor lifts 20.The sliding rod 34 is placed through the slide slot 11 for slidingmovement and also through the first front cotter holes 22 of the twoscissor lifts 20 and the through hole 331 of the driver 30, and thefirst spacer tube 341 and the washer 342 are jacketed on the sliding rod34 at two sides of the through hole 331 to secure the movement of thedriver 30 and also serve as spacers to prevent the legs of the scissorlifts 20 from collapsing towards each other. The supporting member 40 isplaced above the scissor lifts 20, and the inner side of the rotatingholes 42 are pivoted to the rear rotating pins 25 of the two scissorlifts 20. The second front cotter holes 24 of the scissor lifts 20 areplaced on the outer side of the slide track 41 of the supporting member40, and the sliding pin 241 is placed through both of the second frontcotter holes 24 and the slide tracks 41. The first spacer tube 242 andthe washer 243 are jacketed on the sliding pin 241 between the two slidetracks 41. Therefore, the scissor lifts 20 and the supporting member 40are capable of relative sliding movements, and the assembly structure ofthe lower-back supporting structure 100 is completed.

For the actual operation, please refer to FIG. 3 and FIG. 4 with furtherreference to FIG. 2. When the extendable rod 33 of the driver 30 isextended, the extendable rod 33 pushes the sliding rod 34 towards theouter arcuate regions 112 of the slide slots 11, and the first frontcotter holes 22 of the scissor lifts 20 are pushed in the same directionso the scissor lifts 20 rotate around their pivots 21. A maximumdistance between the first front cotter hole 22 and the rear cotter hole23 is then reached. Alternatively, when the extendable rod 33 of thedriver 30 contracts, the through hole 331 of the extendable rod 33 pullsthe sliding rod 34 to slide towards the inner arcuate regions 111 of theslide slots 11, and with the sliding rod 34 being pivoted to the firstfront cotter holes 22 of the scissor lifts 20 the sliding rod 34simultaneously pulls the first front cotter holes 22 to slide towardsthe rear cotter holes 23. Meanwhile, the scissor lifts 20 rotate aroundtheir pivots 21, and a minimum distance between the first front cotterholes 22 and the rear cotter holes 23 is then reached. Additionally, thesecond front cotter holes 24 and the rear rotating pins 25 of thescissor lifts 20 also move to closer to each other. The rear rotatingpins 25 are pivoted on the rotating holes 42 of the supporting member40, and the rear rotating pins 25 of the scissor lifts 20 lift the endshaving the rotating holes 42 of the supporting member 40. The secondfront cotter holes 24 with the sliding pin 241 slides and pushes againstthe slide track 41 of the supporting member 40. Therefore, with thecontraction of the driver 30 and the simultaneous rotation of thescissor lifts 20, the supporting member 40 is able to lift up whileremaining horizontal.

For an embodiment application, please refer to FIG. 5 to FIG. 7 withfurther reference to FIG. 2. The lower-back supporting structure 100 canbe installed onto an upper bed board 51 of a bed frame 50 or a chairback of a chair. Therefore, when a user lays flat or sits, his or herlower-back is above the lower-back supporting structure 100. Taking thebed frame 50 as an example, the lower-back supporting structure 100 isscrewed onto an opening 52 of the bed frame 50 through the lockingaperture 14 of the sliding base 10, and the opening 52 is located at aposition on upper bed board 51 corresponding to the lower-back of theuser. When the lower-back supporting structure 100 is not activated, thedriver 30 is extended, the scissor lifts 20 stretch out like openedscissors, and so the supporting member 40 is not pushed away from thesliding base 10. In addition, the upper bed board 51 is able to have araised lower-back supporting structure in a horizontal state or aninclined state. A mattress 53 is placed above the bed frame 50 toprovide more comfort for the user. When the user wants to havelower-back support, he or she only needs to control the driver 30 forcontraction to drive the scissor lifts 20 to close up and thus lift upthe supporting member 40, and a raised area on the mattress 53 isthereby formed under the lower-back of the user. Please refer to FIG. 8and FIG. 9. A soft padding 54 is placed on the upper side of thesupporting member 40, and the entire structure is capable of beingcontained in the mattress 53 and individually supporting the lower-backarea. Accordingly, the supporting member 40 can support the lower-backarea of the user, to reduce stress around the lower-back area when theuser is laying flat, which can help the user feel more comfortable.

With the above-mentioned structure, the following benefits can beobtained: the lower-back supporting structure 100 utilizes the driver 30to push the sliding rod 34 along the slide slots 11, and with thescissoring movement of the scissor lifts 20 the supporting 40 is liftedhorizontally. This simple assembly structure can provide lower-backsupport to improve the comfort of the bed frame 50 or chair. Moreover,the scissor lifts 20 both are an X-shaped frame and capable ofscissoring movement around the pivots 21 to increase the lift height ofthe supporting member 40. Therefore, the lower-back supporting structure100 can help users to ease their lower-back pain.

Although the present invention has been explained in relation to itspreferred embodiment, it is to be understood that many other possiblemodifications and variations can be made without departing from thespirit and scope of the invention as hereinafter claimed.

1. A lower-back supporting structure for a bed or a chair comprising: asliding base forming a rectangular frame, front ends and rear ends oftwo length-wise sides respectively having a pair of slide slots and apair of rotating pins, a securing portion disposed on a down-extendedportion between the two rotating pins, and the sliding base including aplurality of the locking apertures; two scissor lifts both forming anX-shaped frame having a pivot, two bottom ends of each having a firstfront cotter hole and a rear cotter hole, two top ends of each having asecond front cotter hole and rear rotating pin, the first front cotterhole of each scissor lift aligned with the slide slot of the slidingbase, the rear cotter hole of each scissor lift pivoted to the rotatingpin, and a sliding pin is placed through the two second front cotterholes of the two scissor lifts; a driver having a positioning end, thepositioning end pivoted to the securing portion of the sliding base,another end of the driver having an extendable rod and a through holedisposed at an end of the extendable rod, the through hole aligned withthe slide slot of the sliding base; and a sliding rod is placed throughthe slide slot, the through hole and the first front cotter holes; and asupporting member having four corners corresponding to the four top endsof the two scissor lifts, a pair of slide tracks and a pair of rotatingholes, each slide track corresponding to the sliding pin, and eachrotating hole pivoted to the rear rotating pins; wherein the driverdrives the sliding rod along the slide slot of the sliding base toshorten the extendable rod, the scissor lifts rotate around the pivotsto lift such that the supporting member is pushed away from the slidingbase.
 2. The lower-back supporting structure for a bed or a chair asclaimed in claim 1, wherein the slide slot is an elongate slot having aninner arcuate region and an outer arcuate region at two respective ends.3. The lower-back supporting structure for a bed or a chair as claimedin claim 1, wherein the securing portion of the sliding base and thepositioning end of the driver are pivoted together.
 4. The lower-backsupporting structure for a bed or a chair as claimed in claim 1, whereinthe driver is an electric motor.
 5. The lower-back supporting structurefor a bed or a chair as claimed in claim 1, wherein the driver is ahydraulic device.
 6. The lower-back supporting structure for a bed or achair as claimed in claim 1, wherein a first spacer tube and a firstpair of washers are jacketed on the sliding pin between the two slidetracks of the supporting member.
 7. The lower-back supporting structurefor a bed or a chair as claimed in claim 1, wherein at least two secondspacer tubes and a second pair of washers are jacketed on the slidingrod among the slide slot, the through hole and the first front cotterhole.
 8. The lower-back supporting structure for a bed or a chair asclaimed in claim 1, wherein a soft padding is disposed on the supportingmember.